While visiting my parents over the weekend, my dad said that he’d never had a falafel before and didn’t even know what was in it.  I told him that I would make them the next time they visited and, true to my word, I made them tonight.  They ate ‘em up and even took some leftovers home.  They are so incredibly easy to make.  I wonder why we don’t have them more often?!

I’ve been using the same falafel recipe for a few years now and I’m not sure where it came from originally.  Sorry for not giving any credit to the original creator of my falafel recipe.

Falafel

2 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 cup fresh mint

1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I use whole wheat)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp Tabasco sauce

1 TB olive oil

Put everything into a food processor and process until smooth.  You can either make them into patties or balls.  I use a cookie scooper and scoop them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until they are golden brown.  You can also pan fry them, but I usually end up making a huge mess when I go that route– baking is much easier and less fatty.

Not the most attractive photo, I know (my plate is on an Elmo placement, by the way, in case you were wondering about all those words).  I served ours up on top of some middle eastern flatbread that I can always find at Trader Joe’s, topped with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, and some dill pickles.  I know, the dill pickles sound like an odd topping for falafels, but they are really quite tasty.  The sauce that I make to go with the falafels is made from 2 TB mayo (or vegan mayo), 2 TB Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream (thanks to Amy’s tip, I was able to find some at Whole Foods), juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup chopped cucumber, and about 2 TB chopped fresh dill.  Combine all of those ingredients and thin it out a bit with some plain rice (or soy) milk until it is the right consistency.

On the side, I threw together a quick tabbouleh, which turned out really good.

Tabbouleh

1/2 cup bulgar

1 cup water

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

1 cup chopped kale

1 cup chopped cucumber

1 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 cup diced red onion, soaked in several changes of water (optional, but I find that doing this removes the raw onion after taste)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

S&P to taste

Cook the bulgar in the water.  Meanwhile, put all of the other ingredients into a bowl.  When the bulgar is cooked, add it in and stir.  Taste for seasoning and adjust, if necessary.

I know that kale isn’t a traditional tabbouleh ingredient, but it really has no flavor when it is raw (at least to me it doesn’t) and I thought it would be a good addition here to boost the nutrition of the dish.  The only thing it contributed was extra vitamins and fiber– if I hadn’t known it was in there, I wouldn’t have thought that anything was amiss.